Old Testament Righteousness & Regeneration – morally
speaking

Let us
note, first and foremost, saving separation is a sin separation,
and if Israel returns back to sin then they will forfeit their identity and
benefit as The Church. Israel was calledout
ofEgypt to dwell in separation and holiness
from the Egyptians (from their ways and persons), because the
Egyptians were walking in “the way of sinners” (Ps. 1:1), according to
scripture. Likewise, also, God forewarned of “the Land of Canaan” in the same
manner as He spoke of Egypt (see the comparison below).

“For I am
the LORD that bringeth you up out of the Land of Egypt,
to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.” – Lev. 11:45

“After the
doings of the Land of Egypt, wherein
ye dwelt, shall ye not do: and after thedoings of the
Land of Canaan, whither I bring you, shall
ye not do: neither shall ye walkin their ordinances.” – Lev.
18:3

God was not a racist. God was a
sin-hating God, not a race-hating God. Holiness was not doing “after the
doings of the Land” of “Egypt” or “Canaan”, their ordinances or their ways.
I repeat, this was because the Egyptians and the Canaanites were ungodly,
scornful, sinners! Of such, God forewarned, “Blessed is the man
that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, norstandeth in the way of sinners, norsitteth
in the seat of the scornful” (Ps. 1:1). But, my reader, what if
these Israelites – “called out” and blessed by God! – turned back in
their hearts to what God has forbidden so that, at last, their saintliness is
turned into sinfulness? Like Esau and the Exodus Generation exemplified, the end result would be
reprobation; this is for sure, but what would it look like when saints turn
into sinners?

Laws were put in place to
execute “The Death Penalty” upon all the criminals of Israelite Civilization
which, in truth, were saints-turned-sinners, but how was this characterization
judged? One fundamental and general way to discover all the sinners of Israel
was, in the language of Numbers 15:27-28 & 30-31,

“And if any soul sinthroughignorance,
then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. And the Priest
shall make an atonement for the soul that sinnethignorantly,
when he sinnethbyignorance before the LORD, to make an
atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.” – Numbers 15:27-28

“But the
soul that doethoughtpresumptuously, whether he be born
in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheththe LORD; and
that soul shall be cut offfrom among his people. Because he hath despised
the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall
utterly be cut off; his iniquityshall
be upon him.” – Numbers 15:30-31

For an Israelite to turn
Egyptian or Canaanite was, in other words, a saint-turned-sinner. A
saint-turned-sinner could be called, in the language used in Numbers 15, an ignorant
sinner turned into a presumptuous sinner. This is because, according
to scripture, there are two separate categories of lifestyle which do
characterize all mankind: Ignorant Sinners and Willful Sinners.
With certainty, therefore, those who live a lifestyle free from the continuance
of “willful sin” do so by the enablement of the Holy Ghost (Heb. 10:26-29). This
lifestyle is impossible without regeneration. Therefore we can understand that
these two categories of human lifestyle do contrast in equal proportion to
their differing heart-conditions. In other words, what is displayed outside of
the man is representative of what is inside of the man, as Paul argued,

“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is
that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which
is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of theheart, in
theSpirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men,
but of God.” – Romans 2:28-29

It is easy for some people to
consider “the Law” as a yoke of mere ceremonies and rituals, something kept-up
by carnal men without the empowerment of the Holy Ghost. This is impossible!
Even so, likewise, it is impossible to keep the Moral Law without the
empowerment of the Holy Ghost. Yes, my reader, we must “KEEP” the Moral Law
otherwise we are not being kept within the ruling power of saving grace
(experientially speaking)! For this reason, it was written,

“For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the Law: but if
thou be a breaker of the Law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.
Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the Law, shall
not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not
uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the Law, judge thee, who
by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the Law? For he is not a Jew,
which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward
in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is
that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose
praise is not of men, but of God.” – Romans 2:25-29

The contextual foreground of
Romans 2:28-29 does specifically identify the accomplishment of inward
salvation which is “of the heart” and “in the Spirit”, and what is it? Verses
25-27 declares it very plainly: Inward salvation is identified by those who do
“by nature fulfill the Law”, which means that they do “keep the righteousness
of the Law”. This is the expressed meaning of what it means to be a Jew
inwardly. It means to keep the Law inwardly. Salvation exists in the New
Testament for the same accomplishment, “that the righteousness of the Law might
be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”
(Rom. 8:4, 2:13, 6:12, 6:16, 13:8, 15:18, Gal. 5:7, 24, 6:7-9; for more
information see Legalism:
Law, Grace, and Works).

Furthermore, those who are able
to keep the ceremonies of the Law by faith (i.e. believing in the Gospel), as
God did originally intend, are thereby enabled to “keep” the Moral Law
by faith (through the empowerment of the Holy Ghost). The OT Moral Law was and
is a standard of morality which was impossible to “fulfill” without the
Holy Ghost (Rom. 8:2-4). If this were not so, and Old Testament saints did not
have the Holy Ghost… then, indeed, no one ever fulfilled the Law and inward
Jews have never existed until the New Testament dispensation. Albeit, because
this is so, the scripture spoke of many a man who found favor in the LORD’s
sight. For example, Noah was a “just man and perfect in his generations, and
Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9). Abraham “believed in the LORD; and HE counted
it to him for righteousness” (Gen. 15:6). Abraham walked before God (Gen.
17:1-2) and feared God (Gen. 22:12). He was even called “the friend of God” for
good reason (Gen. 18:17-19, James 2:23)! Abraham was a man who was obedient to
God’s voice (Gen. 22:16-18). The Lord Jesus understood that Isaac and Jacob
followed in Abraham’s footsteps. Signifying this, the Lord said, “many shall
come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, in the Kingdom of Heaven” (Matt. 8:11). Furthermore, Job was a “man that
was perfect and upright, and one that feared God, and eschewed evil” (Job 1:1).
According to scripture, Job was the most righteous man in all the earth during his
time (Job 1:8, 2:3)! He was a man full of the Holy Ghost, yes, and thus he
lived a lifestyle of utter obedience to God’s commandments (see the Christ-like
description of Job’s life before he fell into sin during the trial of his
faith: Job chapter 29). A host of other witnesses could be mentioned (see
Hebrews 11, for example) but the point is clear. All these men, like Zacharias
and Elisabeth, were “righteous before God, walking in ALL the
commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless” (Luke 1:6).

My reader, that which was
morally acceptable to God should be morally exemplary to us. The men of God in
the Old Testament (those who walked with God in vital reality through saving
faith) were not disdained by the inspired writers of the New Testament. Rather,
they were set forth as an example of faith to imitate (see Hebrews 11). Their
inferiority to saints in the New Covenant was not a moral inferiority. They are
inferior in reference to revelation, knowledge, Divine-light, and Covenantal
calling, but they are not inferior morally. By faith (according to what they
knew of God and the Gospel) they were exemplary! Those men who were heroes of
the faith are displayed in the Hall of Fame as clouds of witnesses to inspire
our faith, that we might walk in their steps (Heb. 12:1-2, Rom. 4:12). God is
not ashamed to esteem the saints of the Old Covenant, but why are we? As for
most of us, it is because we don’t understand the Law ceremonially speaking or
morally speaking.

Thus far, we have seen how the
Law existed to regulate the population of Israel (The Church) ceremonially
speaking, forbidding the abiding presence of all once-born imposters or
twice-born backsliders. In addition to this, we must understand how the
population is regulated morally speaking. Numbers 15:22-31 has been
referenced already to signify this regulative principle in The Church of the
Old Testament, morally speaking, but do we understand this Law? Can you
comprehend its significance in regards to Church Purity? You may acknowledge
that, according to scripture, he “doeth ought presumptuously” is the same as he
which commits “sin wilfully”, according to Numbers 15:22-31 and Hebrews
10:26-29, but do you see the miraculous significance of a lifestyle that is
without willful sin? If not, the regulative method of Church Purity
which this Law exists to perform will not be evident to you.